# Zachary Elbouzedi

Zachary Elbouzedi (Arabic: البوزيدي, romanized: ʾalbuzīdī, IPA:); born 5 April 1998) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for League of Ireland Premier Division club St Patrick's Athletic.

## Club career
### Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Elbouzedi started his career with Malahide United. He joined Inverness Caledonian Thistle on a free transfer deal in the summer of 2017 from West Bromwich Albion. He was not able to play immediately due to an injury, but manager John Robertson believed he would compete for a place in the team when healthy.

#### Elgin City (loan)

He was signed by Elgin City on a 28-day long emergency loan contract on 30 December 2017.
After working himself back to match fitness by playing for Elgin City, Elbouzedi made his professional debut for Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 13 March 2018 against Dunfermline Athletic.

### Waterford

Elbouzedi left Inverness on 31 August 2018, after terminating his contract by mutual consent after an injury ravaged season and only playing in one game in the 2018–19 season, which was a League Cup win over Cove Rangers.
On 7 November 2018, Elbouzedi joined League of Ireland Premier Division side Waterford.
He made 29 appearances for the Blues in all competitions, scoring 6 goals in an impressive season personally despite a disappointing season for the club as they finished in sixth place.

### Lincoln City

On 16 December 2019, it was announced that Elbouzedi would move to English club Lincoln City on 1 January 2020 after signing a long-term deal with the club. He scored his first goal for Lincoln in an EFL Trophy tie against Shrewsbury Town on 8 December 2020.

#### Bolton Wanderers (loan)

On 16 January 2021, he would join Bolton Wanderers on loan for the remainder of the season. He would make his debut a few hours later, starting the EFL League Two game against Cheltenham Town.

### AIK

On 15 July 2021, it was confirmed that he would join Swedish Allsvenskan side AIK for an undisclosed fee, signing a contract until 31 December 2024. He would make his AIK and Allsvenskan debut just a few days later, coming off the bench in the 85th minute against Kalmar FF.

#### Swindon Town (loan)

On 30 January 2024, it was confirmed that he had joined EFL League Two club Swindon Town on loan until the end of the 2023–24 season.

### St Patrick's Athletic
#### 2024 season

On 17 July 2024, it was announced that Elbouzedi had returned to Dublin, signing for League of Ireland Premier Division club St Patrick's Athletic on a multi-year contract. He made his debut for the club on 21 July 2024, replacing Kian Leavy from the bench in the 63rd minute of an FAI Cup defeat away to Derry City. On 25 July 2024, Elbouzedi made his first start for the club, in a 3–1 win over Vaduz of Liechtenstein in the UEFA Conference League. He scored his first goal for the club in the away leg against Vaduz, levelling the scores at 1–1 in an eventual 2–2 draw at the Rheinpark Stadion to secure progression to the Third Qualifying round where his side would face Sabah of Azerbaijan. On 15 August 2024, he scored the only goal of the game in his sides away win over Sabah at the Bank Respublika Arena to earn a tie with Turkish side İstanbul Başakşehir in the Play-off Round of the UEFA Conference League.

#### 2025 season

On 28 February 2025, he scored his first goal of the 2025 season, opening the scoring in a 4–3 win over Sligo Rovers at Richmond Park.

## International career

Elbouzedi has represented the Republic of Ireland at youth international level. He remains eligible to play for the Libya national football team due to his father being Libyan and has been contacted about representing Libya but has always stated he only ever wanted to play for the Republic of Ireland. Elbouzedi was capped at under 21 level for the first time in 2019 and was selected for their squad for the 2019 Toulon Tournament.

## Personal life

Elbouzedi was born in Dublin to a Libyan father and an Irish mother.

## Career statistics

    As of match played on 14 March 2025
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National Cup | National Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Europe | Europe | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| West Bromwich Albion | 2016–17 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 2017–18 | Scottish Championship | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 2018–19 | Scottish Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | Total | Total | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Elgin City (loan) | 2017–18 | Scottish League Two | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | 0 |
| Waterford | 2019 | LOI Premier Division | 27 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 29 | 6 |
| Lincoln City | 2019–20 | EFL League One | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 5 | 0 |
| Lincoln City | 2020–21 | EFL League One | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 3 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| Lincoln City | Total | Total | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 3 | 2 | 11 | 2 |
| Bolton Wanderers (loan) | 2020–21 | EFL League Two | 14 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 14 | 0 |
| AIK | 2021 | Allsvenskan | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 21 | 1 |
| AIK | 2022 | Allsvenskan | 25 | 1 | 5 | 2 | – | – | 4 | 0 | – | – | 34 | 3 |
| AIK | 2023 | Allsvenskan | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8 | 0 |
| AIK | 2024 | Allsvenskan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| AIK | Total | Total | 52 | 2 | 7 | 2 | – | – | 4 | 0 | – | – | 63 | 4 |
| Swindon Town (loan) | 2023–24 | EFL League Two | 17 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 17 | 0 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 2024 | LOI Premier Division | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 3 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 2025 | LOI Premier Division | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| St Patrick's Athletic | Total | Total | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 4 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 137 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 171 | 16 |
* ↑ Includes FA Cup, Scottish Cup, FAI Cup & Svenska Cupen
* ↑ Includes EFL Cup, Scottish League Cup & League of Ireland Cup
* ↑ Appearances for West Bromwich Albion U23 in the EFL Trophy
* 1 2 3 Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup
* ↑ Appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League
* 1 2 Appearances in the UEFA Conference League
* 1 2 Appearances in the Leinster Senior Cup

## Honours
### Inverness CT

* Scottish Challenge Cup: 2017–18

### Bolton Wanderers

* EFL League Two third-place (promotion): 2020–21

### St Patrick's Athletic

* Leinster Senior Cup (1): 2023–24